Circle
instead of
crisis
HIGHLIGHTS
Change instead of just business as usual, joie de vivre instead of a doomsday scenario, shaping the future together instead of finger-pointing: the 9th Cradle to Cradle Congress demonstrated how we can create a thriving future. Under the patronage of Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, around 80 speakers and around 1,000 participants from business, politics, science and civil society came together at TU Berlin on March 13 and 14. >> Find out more
Would you like to borrow the exhibition ‘Circle instead of crisis’? No Problem! Because our exhibition is going on tour.
Immerse yourself in a world without waste!
Discover in the Cradle to Cradle exhibition how we can create a future worth living with the Cradle to Cradle principle: climate-positive instead of climate-neutral, healthy products instead of resource scarcity, circle instead of crisis!
>> Learn more
EVENTS
THAT IS WHY
CRADLE TO CRADLE IS NEEDED:
THIS IS
CRADLE TO CRADLE
Cradle to Cradle brings together climate and resource protection and implements innovative solutions for ecological, economic and social problems. This is because interrelated problems can only be solved in context.
RETHINK
The C2C School of Thought
In order to solve the problems of our time in the long term, we need to rethink. Today, we humans are wasting finite resources and destroying the basis of our existence. By doing without, we may act less badly – but we are far from doing well. We can only solve climate and resource problems in the long term by setting positive goals. By consistently integrating our actions into biological cycles and creating technological cycles, we can achieve real added value: ecologically, economically and socially.
REDESIGN
The C2C Design Concept
Rethinking is followed by redesigning: The C2C design concept is the guide for innovative and sustainable C2C products and business models. Materials that are healthy for people and the environment circulate in biological and technical cycles. In production, we use only renewable energy, maintain or improve the quality of water and soil and have fair and humane working conditions.
REDIRECT
Creating a C2C Framework
The necessary transformation, which begins with rethinking and redesigning, must be supported and accelerated by reliable and target-oriented framework conditions. This political and economic framework must provide incentives that promote climate- and resource-positive action and make linear thinking and action unprofitable.
CYCLES
BIOSPHERE
In the BIOSPHERE, materials circulate in continuous biological cycles. All abrasion must be 100% biodegradable and thus becomes a nutrient within the biosphere. This applies to abrasion from textiles and car or bicycle tires as well as packaging or cosmetics. When soap not only cleanses our skin, but also keeps our water clean, cradle to cradle is a reality.
TECHNOSPHERE
The man-made TECHNOSPHERE is part of the biosphere. Materials circulate here in continuous technical cycles. Raw materials for the technosphere are available in limited quantities on earth. They must therefore be maintained at a consistently high quality. Products for technical cycles are designed in such a way that the materials used can be separated by type with little effort. Renewable raw materials can also circulate in the technosphere before they become nutrients again (cascade use).
THAT’S WHY
WE EXIST:
VISION
THIS IS HOW TOMORROW GOES
Cradle to Cradle is a matter of course in the human thinking and acting of tomorrow. Following nature’s example, all waste is nutrient for something new. We only use materials that are recyclable and suitable for their planned use: healthy for us and the environment. Instead of doing less of the wrong thing, we only do the right thing. This is tomorrow.
MISSION
WHAT WE DO FOR IT
C2C NGO is the accelerator for Cradle to Cradle: We encourage organizations and people to rethink and redesign, demand and promote an intact world and bring together business, science, education, politics, culture and civil society. We carry our message to all parts of society and get involved in public debates.
THE TEAM AT
NGO HEAD OFFICE
THAT IS
WHY WE NEED YOU!
© BMU / phototek / Thomas Trutschel
"Climate change, species extinction, the littering of our environment - these are the global challenges of our time. Innovative approaches such as Cradle to Cradle contribute to the responsible use of our limited resources."
SVENJA SCHULZE
Former Federal Environmental Minister
"C2C is the most compelling to me of all the concepts because you can continue to be profitable in a clean and future-friendly way. It is a very positive economic philosophy."
BELA B
Musician
Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© Konstanze Habermann
© Götz Schlese
"Where European politics can learn from Cradle to Cradle is to get out of silo thinking: not just looking at individual policy areas for themselves, but rather taking the entire system into account. Especially when it comes to international supply chains."
DELARA BURKHARDT
Member of the European Parliament
© Gage Skidmore
"The time is now for us to go beyond simply being ‘less bad’ and to lead the world in the invention and innovation of ‘more good’ with Cradle to Cradle products and a prosperous Cradle to Cradle economy. Together, we will inspire and transform the world."
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Former Governor of California
© Picture Alliance / dpa
"C2C NGO is particularly important to me because I see a very great deal of potential with educational work, especially with children and young people, to integrate the principles into their lives."
INEZ BJØRG DAVID
Actress, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© Andreas Rentz / Getty Images Europe
"We often forget that we humans are a part of nature. However, Cradle to Cradle sees humans as beneficial beings on our planet who can do good. With nature as a model, we can drive innovation and quality. Cradle to Cradle NGO brings this idea to society, and I am therefore very happy to support their work."
NINA EICHINGER
Acress & TV-Moderator, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
“With the costs of natural resources on the rise the C2C approach is without a doubt the most, one of the most, future proofed innovations I have seen in the last ten years.”
PRINZ CARLOS DE BOURBON DE PARME
Sustainability expert, member of the Dutch Royal Family
© Sarah Wiener Stiftung / Thomas Panzau
"Conserving resources and reusing them without loss can mean a way out of our dilemma of global consumption of recyclable materials. It takes innovative research, thinking, and action! C2C does just that."
SARAH WIENER
Businesswoman, TV Chef, Author, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© dpa picture alliance / Klaus Dietmar Gabbert
"I am very impressed by the positive vision to get involved. That is, not only to oppose the catastrophe and call for restriction and renunciation, but to put into practice the idea of an ecological industrial society."
RALF FÜCKS
Founder and Managing Partner of Zentrum Liberale Moderne
© Oliver Betke
"I believe Cradle to cradle is absolutely the right approach and that it will play an important role in the political process as well."
CLAUDIA KEMFERT
Director of the Department Energy, Transportation, Environment at the German Institute of Economic Research
© BMU / phototek / Thomas Trutschel
"Climate change, species extinction, the littering of our environment - these are the global challenges of our time. Innovative approaches such as Cradle to Cradle contribute to the responsible use of our limited resources."
SVENJA SCHULZE
Former Federal Environmental Minister
"C2C is the most compelling to me of all the concepts because you can continue to be profitable in a clean and future-friendly way. It is a very positive economic philosophy."
BELA B
Musician
Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© Konstanze Habermann
© Götz Schlese
"Where European politics can learn from Cradle to Cradle is to get out of silo thinking: not just looking at individual policy areas for themselves, but rather taking the entire system into account. Especially when it comes to international supply chains."
DELARA BURKHARDT
Member of the European Parliament
© Gage Skidmore
"The time is now for us to go beyond simply being ‘less bad’ and to lead the world in the invention and innovation of ‘more good’ with Cradle to Cradle products and a prosperous Cradle to Cradle economy. Together, we will inspire and transform the world."
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Ehemaliger Gouverneur Kaliforniens
© Picture Alliance / dpa
"C2C NGO is particularly important to me because I see a very great deal of potential with educational work, especially with children and young people, to integrate the principles into their lives."
INEZ BJØRG DAVID
Actress, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© Andreas Rentz / Getty Images Europe
"We often forget that we humans are a part of nature. However, Cradle to Cradle sees humans as beneficial beings on our planet who can do good. With nature as a model, we can drive innovation and quality. Cradle to Cradle NGO brings this idea to society, and I am therefore very happy to support their work."
NINA EICHINGER
Acress & TV-Moderator, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
“With the costs of natural resources on the rise the C2C approach is without a doubt the most, one of the most, future proofed innovations I have seen in the last ten years.”
PRINZ CARLOS DE BOURBON DE PARME
Nachhaltigkeitsexperte, Mitglied der Dutch Royal Family
© Sarah Wiener Stiftung / Thomas Panzau
"Conserving resources and reusing them without loss can mean a way out of our dilemma of global consumption of recyclable materials. It takes innovative research, thinking, and action! C2C does just that."
SARAH WIENER
Businesswoman, TV Chef, Author, Member of the C2C NGO Advisory Board
© dpa picture alliance / Klaus Dietmar Gabbert
"I am very impressed by the positive vision to get involved. That is, not only to oppose the catastrophe and call for restriction and renunciation, but to put into practice the idea of an ecological industrial society."
RALF FÜCKS
Founder and Managing Partner of Zentrum Liberale Moderne
© Oliver Betke
"I believe Cradle to cradle is absolutely the right approach and that it will play an important role in the political process as well."
CLAUDIA KEMFERT
Director of the Department Energy, Transportation, Environment at the German Institute of Economic Research
BLOG
“We need to talk about how to create healthy products”
With Cradle to Cradle NGO, Arnaud talked about the benefits of events like the C2C Congress and the upcoming plans of Tarkett regarding C2C and sustainability. You can watch the
Transforming the event industry and society with C2C – This was the C2C SUMMIT: STAGING THE FUTURE (GER)
With Cradle to Cradle (C2C), we can shape a climate- and resource-positive future – in the event industry and far beyond. To this end, we have joined forces with Loft
C2C sounds on the Tempelhofer Feld
Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen provided four concerts in August 2022 at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin for a laboratory. Together with our co-project initiators KKT GmbH – Kikis Kleiner
